Virtual Mouse

A development of Proximity Based Gestural Pointing Device

Sheng Kai Tang
User Experience Design, ASUS

Introduction

What if the affordance of a device is totally removed? Without physical and visual clues, will users still be able to perform tasks as usual? In order to discover these curiosities, we propose a new pointing device that is named “Virtual Mouse”. Unlike conventional computer mouse, Virtual Mouse doesn’t have physical form for users to manipulate. Instead, by using a hand moving and tapping on the desk, users are capable of controlling the mouse cursor and triggering button functions intuitively. Technically, we implement a proximity-sensing bar and a pattern recognition algorithm to achieve foregoing goals. The proximity-sensing bar consisted of ten IR transceivers collects digital signals representing the contour of a hand nearby. The pattern recognition algorithm and a state machine further recognize collected signal patterns and their transitions. Finally, these patterns and transitions are mapped to cursor movements and button functions.